


Sounds

by me413



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff, Citypop + Final Fantasy VII, F/M, Fluff, Post-Advent Children, Pre-Advent Children, citypop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26874169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/me413/pseuds/me413
Summary: He's disappeared. She doesn't know why. Then one day they're under one roof again. It's confusing. But maybe a few old songs from Wutai can help them figure things out.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Sounds

"They're not closed again, are they?" asked Yuffie as she walked up to a darkened Seventh Heaven. "Looks like they are though."

But the kunoichi was not one to quit. After all, it had been far too long since she'd seen Tifa. Especially since the sudden disappearance of a certain blonde haired SOLDIER. "It's been months and that dummy hasn't come back. He could've at least said something," muttered the young lady as she began to knock on the bar's glass door.

Not a sound. Not a problem. Without hesitation, Yuffie put her skills as a rogue to use, making easy work of the glass barrier before her with nothing but a pick and deft hands. She then crossed the threshold quietly, creeping stealthily into the lightless bar with a whisper. "Hello? Tifa?"

As the ninja made her way deeper into her friend's place of business, all she had was a tune to guide her. One that brought her up to the counter where a lone radio sang its song. One where she found the person she had been searching for. Peering into the shadows behind the bartop, Yuffie found Tifa asleep against cupboards beneath her workspace. The princess was quick to vault over the countertop, landing silently beside the slumbering bartender.

"Hey, Tifa," hissed the shuriken wielder, the sound suddenly jolting her comrade awake.

"Wha- Cloud? Oh, it's you, Yuffie," acknowledged Tifa as she rubbed the sleep from her puffy eyes. Eyes that had obviously just been weeping over a lost blade wielder as the tune continued. "What brings you here?" inquired the lonely lady with a smile that failed to reach her carmine orbs.

"I wanted to check on you. See how you and the kids were doing. Since y'know…" Yuffie's heart sank. This was all wrong. Tifa was alone. Cloud was gone. And Yuffie wanted to help.

And all she had was a lone radio's song. The girl from Wutai laughed at herself, embarrassed she hadn't recognized it. The song on the stereo was a famous pop tune in Wutai from her father's generation. A "golden oldie" as Godo Kisaragi had put it. One that gave his daughter an idea, crouched in the darkness of a shadowy city bar.

"And I can't say I'm wrong. You look really tired," noted Yuffie as the old melody played. "But I think I know what'll cheer you up!"

"What's that?" sighed Tifa as she stood from her as she moved to switch off the radio, its language far too foreign and its notes far too sad for her. But before she could, she found a ninja's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't," urged the younger woman with a smile, doing her best to bring some levity to the bruiser's situation. "What about a night out?"

Tifa scoffed. "No money. No time. Business isn't good. Denzel's got the Stigma. Marlene's not in school. And Cloud…"

"Hey," cut in Yuffie, hoping to turn her old ally's thoughts to a more positive route. "Just one night. One. I'll watch the kids. I know how the Stigma works. It's not the flu. I'll be fine. So what do you say? Just one night to yourself? Might wanna head out to a club, eh?"

"But…" trailed Tifa, biting her lower lip.

"But what?"

"But even if I did, I don't know how to dance. That's what people do in clubs, right? Dance."

Yuffie smiled, knowing she had the perfect answer. "That's why I'll teach you," paused the kunoichi as she turned the knob on the radio, letting the aged song fill the bar. "With this old tune right here."

And so Tifa's dance lessons began. She learned to keep a beat. Then to step to it. That was only the first day, cut short as the song ended. On the second, Yuffie brought a recording of the Wutai classic herself. It was a dull roar from her PHS, the only sound filling Seventh Heaven as Denzel and Marlene slumbered upstairs. And reluctant as the fighter was to admit it, she enjoyed the young ninja's company, a pleasant break from the dreariness that her life had become. Then she began dancing on her own, swaying from side to side as she let the rhythm of the ballad guide her. It was different. Hypnotic. It spoke of a life she had never lived in a time period she had never been born in a language she had never understood. And on the third day of their lessons, Tifa asked Yuffie what the song was about, relying on her friend to translate its message from Old Wutai.

And so the young noble obliged. And then Tifa understood. After all, the song seemed perfect for her: the story of a woman abandoned by a man. The reality of it was harsh. Harsh enough to almost bring her to tears right there in her own bar. But a single tear didn't leave her carmine eyes at all as Yuffie's ramblings cut through the grief which had engulfed her.

"I heard it a lot when I was a kid. One of my dad's favorites. My mom's too. And I like it. It's from their "good old days" the way my dad puts it. Apparently, the lady who sang it got married to some other famous musician back in Wutai."

Tifa sighed sadly. "At least someone got their happy ending," thought the raven haired woman as the tune looped for what seemed like an eternity on Yuffie's PHS.

And once again it was up the more energetic of the duo to add some pep to their conversation. "So, you've been getting pretty good. I was thinking…" trailed Yuffie, legs swinging as she sat on the countertop. "Maybe you could go out tomorrow. End of the week. Clubs'll be firin' on all cylinders. You could use the break, y'know?"

"But the kids? The Stigma? And the bar? And it's only been three days. I'm not sure I-"

"Hey, I'll handle them," soothed the princess, always ready to lend a helping hand. "I'll close up the bar. I'll watch Denzel and Marlene too. I can do it. Besides, I know the Stigma doesn't hop from one person to the next. It's not like some cold, Tifa. I've got it! Now go upstairs and pick out something nice for yourself! Heck, if you're gonna be that antsy, just head out tonight."

"You really think it'd be okay?" murmured Tifa, pensive and unsure.

"Yes! Now get on with it! Or do you need my help to get dressed?"

And so Tifa made her way from the bar to the staircase. Taking a step upwards, she threw a single pleading look at Yuffie over her shoulder. It had been months. Months since Denzel had fallen ill. Months since Cloud had left looking for a cure, only to disappear wordlessly. Months since she had felt anything resembling happiness.

And now that she had the chance? It all felt too good to be true. It all felt like a dream. But Yuffie's smile pulls her back to reality. It lets her know she isn't alone. It's enough for her to smile back as she climbs the steps, ready for a single night to forget about her troubles.

It happens fast. Minutes later, she exits through Seventh Heaven's door, a young ninja's hollering and praise trailing behind her. After that, Tifa's in a cab, out to enjoy the delights that other women her age usually partake in. After that, she's in a club, lingering by the bar with a single half-finished drink in hand. The dark haired lady doesn't notice the eyes on her, especially the eyes of a blonde haired and blue eyed stranger. But he's not afraid as he strides across the way.

"Was this a good idea?" murmured the woman in the blue dress, her red-brown eyes scanning the scene shyly. The club is dark and thrumming, a blinding mix of halogen lights and techno beats. It all stops her from noticing him.

"What was what, babe?"

She turns, only to bump into him. Sandy blonde hair. Sea blue eyes. Tall and broad shouldered. The obviously single lady by the bar can't speak.

He took his chance. "Comin' here? Nah. Only way I'd get to meet a girl like you. You seem new here."

"Uh, yeah," murmured the shy Tifa. "Not really my normal kind of place though."

"Really then? So what is?"

"My what?"

A smirk from him. "Your normal kind of place."

"Oh, well, I run a bar. Here in Edge. But I don't get out a lot." Tifa sighed, thinking of her kids. And someone else.

"Well, maybe I could show you around here. But first," pauses the man. "You got a name?"

"Tifa. Yours?"

A wink then. Flirty. Inviting. "Give me a dance. I'll tell you after."

The woman in blue hesitates. This isn't her normal self. The Tifa Lockhart she knows doesn't go to clubs. She doesn't leave her kids with someone else. She doesn't dance with strange men. But she doesn't wait years for them either. So she answers.

"Sure." Draped in dark blue, she steps out onto the dance floor hand in hand with a new partner. The atmosphere changes. She feels looser. Less restrained. More alive. Then the song comes. Familiar yet different. A new version of Yuffie's Wutai classic. New voices. New instruments. It's like magic. And like magic, it casts a spell on her as she finds herself swaying in time with him.

They step to the beat hand in hand. Small touches. Quick gazes. It's a game that only grows more intense as the song continues. And as the song finally slows, Tifa finds herself leaning in, arms wrapped around his neck. Tonight she gets to be somebody else, she thinks. That maybe the stranger holding her won't leave her. That maybe he won't forget promises. Yet she can't help but notice the differences. The things she doesn't want to remember.

Like how his hair isn't drawn into golden spikes.

Like how his eyes aren't the color of the sky gilded with shades of green.

Like how he's not built lean, lacking in the balance of grace and power that had made itself known through his clumsy dancing.

Like how he's not Cloud Strife.

Hand placed on this man's shoulder, Tifa stops herself. "I can't do this."

She can't forget him. She's reminded when she locks eyes with him. He's standing across from her, azure eyes widened ever so slightly as he finds her with another man. The boy who left her tries to smile like he's happy she's moved on. But he can't. For all his stoicism, Cloud Strife has never been able to hide those moments when his heart breaks. It's then that the smile turns into a pained grimace, one that grows as he doubles over, clutching his sleeved left arm in pain. Before Tifa can think, she's already bolted forward to help her old friend, her new partner forgotten.

"I'm sorry, Tifa." It's all he says to her as he pulls away, eyes sad and apologetic as he abandons her again. And as he runs, the carmine eyed girl chases him as he vanishes into the crowd, the entrance to the club but a few feet away from him. Tifa doesn't hesitate, heels clicking as she rushes into the cold Edge evening. On the sidewalk, the fighter whirls around, searching for him. But she knows the truth: Cloud is gone. And she's all on her own.

Head hung in grief, Tifa would enter the club once more. But not for a dance. It was only to pick up her coat and head home. Her night would become a blur upon her return to Seventh Heaven. The brawler lied to Yuffie, her easy fake smile enough for the ninja to believe her night had gone well. The lone parent of two tucked Denzel and Marlene in, exchanging the young man's bandages for new ones like she had already done so many times before. Then the girl on the water tower finally fell on her bed, hair splayed around her with a Wutai classic singing low into the night on her PHS. Tifa woke the next morning, the only memory of the previous night being the warm trails on her pillow. Her life isn't easy. It's messy. Like a bad song with all the wrong notes and the wrong lyrics.

But a month later, she would stand with her friends as a man climbed out of a pool in an old chapel. He looks distant for but a few moments as if someone is calling him somewhere. Then he returns and finally sees them as children splash around him. For the first time in a year, Cloud sees their old companions, all standing by him like they did three years before. And when his eyes meet hers, he smiles at her, awkward and stilted but real. He's never learned to smile. He's never had much of a reason to. After all, his life has been a bad song. One with all the wrong notes and all the wrong lyrics.

"Just like me," realized Tifa as she smiled back at him, awkward and stilted but real.

**"Plastic Love" by Mariya Takeuchi**

**(because of course a Citypop inspired story starts with this song)**

**Yup, all the chapters of this one are inspired by Citypop songs. Because I like Citypop and I like Final Fantasy VII. So why not? Hopefully you like those two and this story enough to leave a review. =)**


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